Life-saving drug key found for stroke victims

By CNN's Grant Holloway

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Stroke victims can reduce the chance of suffering a second -- often fatal -- stroke by up to 75 percent by taking a combination of blood pressure drugs, Australian medical researchers have found.

A six-year study of more than 6,000 stroke sufferers worldwide by the University of Sydney's Institute for International Health has discovered that using blood pressure lowering treatments helps prevent further strokes even for people without high blood pressure.

The study's findings were released at the weekend in Milan, Italy, as part of a European hypertension conference.

The blood pressure drugs also reduced the risk of serious complications of stroke such as disability and dementia, the researchers say.

"The results provide clear evidence of major health gains for these high-risk patients," one of the study organizers, Professor Stephen MacMahon said.

"If the findings are applied widely, many millions of stroke sufferers worldwide would be spared unnecessary suffering."

20 percent suffer second attack

World health statistics show about five million people die from stroke every year and at least 15 million others suffer non-fatal strokes that are frequently disabling. About one in five survivors will suffer another stroke or heart attack within five years.

The study involved patients from 172 hospitals throughout Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

Study chairman Professor John Chalmers said it was previously thought that blood pressure lowering drugs were only useful for stroke victims with high blood pressure -- less than one-third of total stroke cases.

"But we have shown that (the drugs) perindopril and indapamide have beneficial effects, not only for those with high blood pressure, but also for the much larger number of stroke patients with normal blood pressure," he said.

Benefits unusually large

At present, blood pressure drugs are only given to a minority of people who suffer a stroke or mini-stroke.

"There is a strong case for making these drugs available to most stroke patients, irrespective of their age and blood pressure and irrespective of the other treatments they may be receiving," said MacMahon.

"The benefits are unusually large and occur in a wide range of patients. There were very few side-effects."

Currently aspirin is the only treatment given widely to patients after stroke, however it is not suitable for people who have suffered some particularly dangerous types of stroke, such as cerebral haemorrhage.

The Institute for International Health was established in 1999 as a joint initiative of The University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney.

Its research focus is on heart and vascular diseases, injury and neuropsychiatric conditions.

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